


I Keep Pretending I Don't Need You

by intergalxtic



Category: Black Friday - Team StarKid, The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: Canonical Character Death, F/M, Post Black Friday, Reflection, Semi-established relationship, Stream of Consciousness, except they don't go to hidgens house
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:36:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26064355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/intergalxtic/pseuds/intergalxtic
Summary: First, she is confused. Next, she gets angry. Then a realisation hits her.Emma discovers why Wiggly's spell didn't work on Paul.
Relationships: Implied Becky Barnes/Tom Houston, Lex Foster/Ethan Green, Paul Matthews & Emma Perkins, Paul Matthews/Emma Perkins
Comments: 4
Kudos: 68





	I Keep Pretending I Don't Need You

**Author's Note:**

> big thanks to @thegirlwholovedstarkid on tumblr for editing this fic!!
> 
> title from song called "slowly" by Ava Maria Safai

Driving away. That’s what they’re doing. Becky and Tom sitting in the front, Paul and Emma sitting in the middle, Lex, Hannah and Tim all holding on for dear life in the boot. (Tom had expressed his worry about this, but they didn’t have much of a choice). 

Lex, Tom and Becky all take turns explaining the day, from the events in the mall, to the spell that was over them. They did have to take a break about halfway through when Tom mentioned Ethans death, and Lex broke down in tears. She spent the rest of the ride shaking. 

The “family” don’t know where they’re going, but Emma knows if she has to spend another second trapped in a car with Becky Barnes she might explode. At least she has Paul sitting right beside her. 

She may not show it much, but she likes Paul. Like,  _ really _ likes Paul. Even though they “haven’t put a label on it yet”. He willingly listens to her, actively tries to cheer her up, and that’s only the surface. Maybe if she was better with words, she could tell him how much he means to her. 

She thinks back to the conversation in the car they had almost twenty-four hours ago. That wiggly song, the song he has expressed hatred from the beginning. Not solely the song, but the product itself. 

She recalls him walking past advertisements and shuddering. His judging eyes whenever someone mentioned it. His fake smile when Tom said he was going to get one for Tim. 

For the most part, she shared this aversion with him. However, she will admit, if she (god forbid) had a kid to buy it for, she would have fallen for it. 

Lex said something about adults having more holes they need to fill because they have lived through more thus needing comfort though meaningless items, and while Emma finds it so fucking stupid that an entity living in an outer dimension could figure out the system before someone living in it could, she agrees. 

This makes her wonder, though. Paul never needed a wiggly doll. What the heck does that mean?

Paul has told Emma about his dad in the military, his struggles with bullying during school, his expensive as shit college and many others. He has just as many “holes” as her, right? So why didn’t it work on him?

So she asks him, turns out he’s done some thinking about it too.

He tells her that it’s because of her. How if they weren’t together, the wiggly would have eventually gotten him. 

First, she is confused into silence, next, she gets angry.  _ Paul thinks of me as a product? _

Then a realisation hits her. He doesn’t need the doll, because he has her. She makes him happy. She didn’t think she was capable of that. Every single smile, hug and kiss he gives her isn’t obligatory, it’s voluntary. Because he wants to. 

A long moment passes, and it dawns on her. Paul has the same affect. He makes her feel safe, he makes her feel wanted, instead of an outcast like before. 

And she wants to put a label on it. She’s done pretending she doesn’t need him. 

Because if it wasn’t for each other, they both would have burned with the doll.

With the city.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed!!
> 
> kudos and comments are appreciated!!
> 
> feel free to follow my tumblr (same username)
> 
> have an awesome day :))


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